Say it again, breathing the name in and breathing it out slowly! Our God is here with us, in every breath that we breathe and every step that we take. We are never alone. Our God is still here with us as He WAS and IS in days to come. Let us use our time with others this Christmas season to share the greatest news in history...that news is that our God dwells WITHIN us, is WITH us, and will be God forever
May our hearts pause to hear the worship of the heavenly host as they declare the good news. May we run to the Savior, the Lamb of God, who wrapped Himself in flesh and made His tabernacle among us. And may our response be worship, this Christmas Day and every day.
"And when they
were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child
to destroy Him."
Joseph did not wait till morning; he rose at once, and
with Mary and the child, started by night on the long journey. The wise men had given costly presents to
Jesus, and in this way, God provided for the expenses of the journey and their
stay in Egypt, until they should return to their own land. Herod was very angry
when he found that the wise men had gone home another way. He knew what God by
His prophet had said about Christ's coming. He knew how the star had been sent
as a guide to the wise men. Yet he was determined to destroy Jesus. In his
wrath, he sent soldiers to kill all the male children who were two years old and
under. How strange that a man should
fight against God! What an awful scene this slaying of innocent male children
must have been! Herod had before done many cruel things, but his wicked life
was soon to end. He died a terrible death.
Joseph and Mary
remained in Egypt till after the death of Herod. Then the angel appeared to
Joseph, and said, "Arise, and take the young child and His mother, and go
into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life."
Joseph had hoped to make his home in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born; but on
coming near to Judea, he learned that a son of Herod was reigning in place of
his father. This made Joseph afraid to go there, and he did not know what to
do; so God sent an angel to instruct him. Following the directions of the
angel, Joseph returned to his old home in Nazareth.
Prayer Thank You, Father, for spiritual leaders and faith-filled friends who keep encouraging us when we are close to giving up. And although we have many reasons to rejoice today, Lord, we also know December 25th can be not-so-merry for a whole host of reasons. We pray for those who are experiencing loss: relational, financial, spiritual, and physical. We pray for those who are coping with loving a prodigal and our friends and family members whose hearts are far from You. We pray for those dealing with unemployment and addictions and chronic sickness... and unending pain and frustrations of all kinds. Thank You, Lord, that You are The Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace, even in the midst of our not-so-merry circumstances. Finally, Lord, we ask You to grant us peace. Peace in our homes, peace in our churches, and peace in our hearts, when the world all around us spins out of control. Help us to stay focused on You, this Advent season and always.
In the gospel of Luke, we see that after the birth of Jesus, eight days later, God remembered and honored the prayer of an old and devout man of God, named Simeon, who believed that God not only hears prayers but will answer as well. Joseph and Mary took the infant to the temple to dedicate Him back to the Lord as tradition mandated (Luke 2:23, Exodus 13:2). It was here that Simeon's eyes beheld the hope and his arms held the Savior of mankind, God's promised Messiah! Sometimes, it may seem as if dreams, hopes, and expectations are not coming to pass, but wait on the Lord and allow your strength to be renewed by Him! Far, far away, there were also others who had heard, read and believed that God's PROMISE would come to pass. They were not Jews or even considered to be "people of God" but they were still able to hear and know that God was calling them to seek and find the King of kings and Lord of lords. The three wise men left their homes to make an arduous and long journey from the east to follow a star that was leading them to a final destination. Matthew is the only gospel that records the quest of the wise men leading them to Jerusalem. When they arrived, their first stop was to see King Herod to inquire about this "new king".
When you find Him,” Herod told
the visitors, “come back and tell me where He is. I have a little something of
my own I want to give Him” (Matthew 2:8, paraphrased). After hearing him out, the Magi left for
Bethlehem. It wasn't long before their familiar star rose again, leading them
like a shepherd leading its sheep to a house on the outskirts of town.
When they found the "child" King, it was
no wonder He was nothing more than a murmur in Jerusalem. They entered the house where He lay and beheld a child in the arms of a young woman, practically
still a girl. There was no crown or majesty that would attract them to Him,
no miracle they could see, no signs of greatness. Just a woman and her
child.But there was something about that moment that only the woman, the Magi, and maybe even the child something- that bent the knees of
those wise men to the posture of worship when they saw Him. This child was a
King.
One of the Magi moved forward
and produced a purse of gold, laying it at the child’s feet. Another came with
a flask of myrrh, then another with a box of frankincense. Unaware that they
were funding a hasty trip to Egypt necessitated by Herod’s paranoia, they gave
these gifts for no other reason than to honor the one born King of the Jews. He
wasn’t even their king. Israel’s God was not their people’s
god. And yet, they had come because the thought of a God of mercy with
healing in His wings must have awakened in them a desire to be close to the one
through whom that healing would flow. They followed the star, and after
countless miles of sojourn, they found the King.
It was quite a feat. They
would rest well. But that night as they drifted into a deep sleep of
satisfaction, an angel, unfamiliar to them but well-known to Mary, stepped into
their dreams and painted for them the bloody truth of who Herod really was and
what he meant to do to this child. The angel warned them to take another route
home).
Herod’s motives were murderous.
History would remember him not only dripping with the blood of his own wives
and sons, but with the blood of countless others, mostly boys under the age of
two. But not this boy king. Herod would not take His life. The Magi departed for home in
secret, avoiding the area around Jerusalem.
Write out your thoughts
Prayer Father God, we thank You and praise You today for the miracle of Your Son's birth. Thank You for bringing great JOY to the whole world! Thank You for giving us the assurance that because You came to us in the form of a human, we who believe in Jesus can know with absolute certainty that we'll spend eternity with You. We thank You, Lord, for the many reasons we have been given a merry Christmas. And we rejoice for each blessing.-
The shepherd’s life was ironic. Their
job was to care for the animals that would be sacrificed to atone for the sins
of the people. Yet because of their handling of these dirty creatures, they
themselves were unclean and thus prevented from keeping the ceremonial law. And
because they were ceremonially unclean, they were often regarded as
untrustworthy and irreligious. But when the angel appeared to tell the
shepherds about the birth of the Savior, he told them, Christ, the Lord had been
born unto them.
Though
they lived most of their lives on the outside looking in, they would not be
outsiders to this gift. The shepherds were the recipients of it. This was big news. The shepherds sensed it,
but the angels in Heaven knew it and their behavior showed it.
Initially, it was just one glorious but solitary angel who appeared to these
men in Bethlehem’s fields. But as soon as he announced Jesus’s birth, “suddenly
there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God” (Luke 2:13). It was as if there were millions of
angels hiding just behind some celestial door, and once they heard, “Unto you
is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!” they were unable to contain
their joy any longer and all rushed in, praising God, singing, “Glory to God in
the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).
The spontaneous eruption of
angelic praise became the lens through which the shepherds would see this
moment: God was at work. This much was plain. But why had the glory of all
glories appeared to the lowest of the lows? Why had the angel chosen to reveal
this message to mere shepherds, unclean as they were? Because poverty is
relative. Could it be that from the perspective of heaven, the poor shepherds
outside Bethlehem were no more or less poor than the rest of the world sleeping
under its watch? Could it be that the poor of the earth was in fact all the
people of the earth—poor in spirit, mourning and meek, hungry and thirsty for
righteousness (Matthew 5:2-12)? Could it be that the Savior’s coming was for
them as much as it was for anyone, and for anyone as much as it was for them?
The angels gave the shepherds a
sign that left them speechless. Their Messiah and Savior could be found where
the young lambs were kept. He would be the one not covered in wool but wrapped
in a swaddling cloth. When they found Jesus lying in a manger as the angel said, the very location of His
birth was drenched insignificance. The Savior had been born into their unclean
world in the same manner as a lamb. The symbolism was not lost on them. He was born unto them.
When the shepherds saw Jesus
there, they saw not only that He had come, but they got a hint
as to why. He came to
be the perfect Lamb— the ultimate, lasting sacrifice. This baby’s
coming was to accomplish and establish peace between the God of all creation
and His image-bearers who habitually rejected Him. And so it would be all His
days.
From the manger in Bethlehem to
the cross on Calvary, Jesus moved among the people, came into their homes,
touched their blind eyes, and permitted their unfaithful hands to touch Him. He
taught them profound lessons from ordinary events. He defended the defenseless
and opposed the self-righteous. He ate at their tables, laughed with their
children, and wept over their grief. GOD WITH US! Let’s follow the shepherds to
the manger today. May
our hearts pause to hear the worship of the heavenly host as they declare the
good news. May we run to the Savior, the Lamb of God, who wrapped Himself in
flesh and made His tabernacle among us. And may our response be worship, this
Christmas Day and every day.
Fall
on your knees!
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
Write out your thoughts
Prayer
Make me like those shepherd boys, obedient to Your call. Setting distractions and worries aside, to You I surrender them all. Surround me with Your presence, Lord, I long to hear Your voice. Clear my mind of countless concerns and all the holiday noise. Slow me down this Christmas, let me not be in a rush. In the midst of parties and planning, I want to feel Your hush. This Christmas, Jesus, come to the manger of my heart.-
The census that was ordered by
Caesar Augustus was the first of its kind. It was done because the Roman
government wanted to make sure that everyone in the Empire was paying their
taxes correctly. The census was carried out all over Empire (most of Europe):
but in Palestine, it was carried out in a Jewish way rather than a Roman way.
This meant that families had to register in their historical tribal town rather
than where they lived. This also meant that Joseph and the very pregnant Mary
would have had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, as this was a town that
Joseph's family (the royal family of David) originally came from - a journey of
about 70 miles (112 kilometers).
The journey would have taken about
three days and they might well have arrived in the evening because if they had
arrived earlier in the day, it is more likely that they would have found
somewhere to stay. In those times, there weren't really such things as motels
or inns, you normally would have stayed with some extended family or relations.
A more accurate translation of 'inn' would be 'guest room'. You would normally
stay with extended family in their ‘guest room’ but as it was a busy time the
guest room was already full. Most houses would have been shared with the
animals that the family kept. Houses had two levels, the upper/mezzanine level
where people slept and the ground floor where the animals slept at night and
the family lived during the day. As many people would have traveled to
Bethlehem for the census, all the houses or certainly upper levels were full. So Joseph and Mary probably had to sleep with the animals
on the low level (where it’s common to have a manger cut into a wall where you
put the animal food) or possibly (but unlikely) out in a stable, cave, or even a
covered market stall that sold animals (these stalls could be rented during
tabernacles).
Between the angels, the
pregnancy, the wedding, and the census, the theme of the past year for Joseph
and Mary seemed to have been about listening to the story of who they were.
They weren’t children anymore, but they weren’t quite grownups either. They
were somewhere between who they used to be and who they were becoming, and now,
the moment had come which would change not only their lives but the entire
course of history. Pain stabbed at her. Then it happened again, worse this
time. And again. Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit and one of the
consequences of that act of rebellion shot through Mary from head to toe, every
few minutes now. Eventually, as if cresting a ridge, her labor gave way to
delivery, and her groaning gave way to the sound of the cries of little lungs
drawing in the breath of earth for the first time. To the wonder of the humble man and relief of the weary woman, they
beheld Him who, though He was the Son of God, was every bit a fragile, tiny
baby. Together, Mary and her husband cleaned their child and wrapped His
little arms and legs in strips of cloth to keep Him warm. It was the custom in those times to wrap a newborn baby very tightly in long bandages called swaddling clothes. The arms and legs of the baby were also wrapped, so they couldn't move.After they laid Him
in a manger and finally exhaled, they gave Him the name Jesus. And both
remembered why.
The incarnation of the Savior of the world could
have come to pass any number of ways. But God, in His infinite wisdom, chose
this. He chose this couple for
this night in this shelter. This boy, the angel told them, would be the heir to
David’s throne. He would be their Wonderful Counselor, their Mighty God, their
Everlasting Father, their Prince of Peace. The government would be upon His
shoulders (Isaiah 9:2-7).
But there was nothing
particularly complex or regal about this moment in the stable outside
Bethlehem. There were no heralds in the streets announcing the birth of the
King. By all appearances, it was a humble, simple affair, seemingly incidental
to everything else going on in David’s town that night. But it wasn’t
incidental. It had been God’s plan from the beginning: this King of Kings was
“chosen before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20).
There, on the edge of Bethlehem, a
child was born. A Son was given. It was the most significant moment
in the history of the world. The zeal of the Lord Almighty had accomplished
this (Isaiah 9:7).
The angel told Mary she would
conceive a son who would rescue His people from their sins. God had already
chosen His name—Jesus, which meant “salvation.” But the angel’s message did not
come without consequence for Mary and Joseph. It would lead these two young
people to live as fugitives for a time, fleeing from the paranoia of a ruthless
and powerful Roman ruler. And on top of all that, as her belly expanded, Mary
and Joseph would have to endure the suspicious looks of friends and relatives
who couldn’t help questioning her purity and his character. All of this was
coming, and so much more. The angel continued with his message. Mary’s boy would grow to reign over the
people of God as their Savior and King. The God who promised
David so many years before that his royal line would see no end would keep
that ancient covenant by bringing an heir to Israel’s throne through this young
woman. “But how can this be, since I’m still a virgin?” she asked. For her to
bear this son, she must conceive, and virgins don’t conceive.
Everyone knows this. The angel explained that all the laws of nature are
amendable by the one who wrote them. Mary lived in the world that was made, and
the Maker of this world was the sole Author of what could and would happen
here. How this would happen was incidental to the fact that
it would. And God would be the one to do it. But the heavenly
announcement needed something else to ensure that it would come to pass. The
angel needed to pay Joseph a visit as well.
Joseph was a decent man. He
didn’t want to shame Mary, though he could have and no one would have blamed
him. What could he do? His bride-to-be was pregnant, and he wasn’t the father.
This burden must have weighed heavily on his heart, flooding his thoughts and
his dreams. One night as he tossed and turned, an angel of the Lord appeared to
him in a dream. He had come to set something straight. This baby was not forming
in Mary’s belly because of anything she had done. This was something God had done—something God was doing,
part of the order and structure of His divine purpose. “Don’t be afraid
to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the
Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins”. There was a purpose in this
for both Joseph and Mary. She
would bear the child, he would name Him, and the child would save them from
their sins. Was this what the prophet Isaiah meant when he
foretold that a virgin would conceive and have a son who would be called
Immanuel—God with us? This virgin Isaiah spoke of, could this really be his Son?
God gave Joseph instructions that were not easy to follow. But Joseph decided to take the courageous route of faith instead of the easier one of doubt and unbelief. He chose to follow through with his commitment to Mary, becoming her husband and Jesus' earthly father. Obedience is not always the easiest choice-it take often takes courage to do so. What choice will you make today?
Write out your thoughts
Prayer Dear Lord, don't let us miss You this Christmas season. Help us to courageously step out into those places that will try our faith and put to death our flesh and selfish motives. If it means making that phone call, paying that visit, or giving away that long hoped-for and desired Christmas gift with our name on it. Help us to simplify our activities and traditions so we can focus our celebration on Your birth. Thank You for being the Prince of Peace, and I ask You for that supernatural peace to reign in our hearts. Thank You for the simple but life-changing message of Your love for us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Four
hundred years. That’s
the length of time between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of
the New Testament. More importantly, it’s the length of time Israel existed
without a prophet. That’s how long God’s people waited for a word from the
Lord. Four hundred years of waiting, wondering, doubting, and fearing. Four
hundred years of questioning whether God would ever speak again. Was it
possible He had abandoned Israel once and for all?
The centuries leading up to Jesus’ birth are sometimes referred to as the “400
Years of Silence,” and it’s a silence Israel would have felt. It’s also the
context of Luke’s story. In this opening chapter, he picks up where the last
prophets left off, and a chasm of quiet hangs between. The silence is palpable,
which is why Zechariah’s silence prior to this passage is no coincidence at
all.
An
angel of the Lord foretells the birth of Zechariah’s son, John, who would
prepare the way for Christ. It was good and wonderful news, but Zechariah
doubted. He was old, and so was his wife, and he questioned the power of God.
As a consequence of this doubting, the angel sentenced Zechariah to months of
silence. Only after John’s birth would Zechariah finally regain his voice. But
Zechariah doesn’t merely start talking again. He doesn’t exhale a muted
“Finally!” and then return to life as usual. Instead, Zechariah’s voice returns
like a trumpet blast. He bursts into praise and foretells a plan more
marvelous and magnificent than anyone had ever imagined. The
story of Zechariah seems like only a footnote in the larger story of Jesus, but
we cannot miss the significance of it. Zechariah’s life is a signpost; both his
silence and his singing foreshadow the arc of God’s story. God was
about to end the four hundred years of silence with a roar of hope. God was
putting an end to the era of no words by sending the Word made flesh.
That
is God’s calling card. He punctuates silence with singing because He always
ends oppression with deliverance. After all, this wasn’t the first time the
Israelites had endured centuries of silence. The span of time between Genesis
and Exodus was roughly four hundred years as well. The Israelites suffered
under years of slavery and oppression, but the story ended the same: God sent a
deliverer (Exodus 3).This is God’s
pattern. He always shows up. He always saves. We see it in Moses, we
see it in Jesus, and we even see it in the life of Zechariah. God is an
always-returning God. He is always coming back, and that is never not true, no
matter how thick the silence. Knowing this pattern, we are left with only one
question: What will we do in the silence?
Zechariah
could have become bitter. Or, he could have become angry at God for not
giving him and his wife what they longed and had waited so long for. Zechariah allowed God to change
his heart, transforming him into an entirely different man than he was before. That
is the beauty of Zechariah’s story. His life is the story of Christmas hope. He sings the song of a people delivered from
slavery, a people walking in darkness who have seen a great light. His song is
the hope of Jesus’ birth, a hope rooted in the promise that the silence will end, the darkness will abate, and Christ is coming back.
Zechariah
and Elizabeth chose to be courageous and trust that God had a plan. It
turned out that God had an amazing plan. He gave Zechariah and Elizabeth a baby
when they were old! And, this was a very special baby. His name was John. When he
grew up, his preaching prepared the way for people’s hearts to be ready for
Jesus. Things do not always turn out like we want them to. But, when we
have the courage to trust God, He will always make things turn out the best
way!
God’s prophecy that the Messiah
would be born to Mary hundreds of years before the angelic visitations would
come to pass through submission and trust in the most difficult of
circumstances. A pregnant virgin Mary risked being stoned for fornication.
Joseph risked the slander and stigma of illegitimacy. What appears to be the
worst circumstance possible turns out to be God’s magnificent plan of
redemption to unite with His people.
Submission to God’s will always involve
risk, but the rewards are eternal. Sometimes
God calls us to do things that seem strange to us. But, we can learn from Mary
what it means to be full of courage, even when God’s instructions are
unexpected!
Do you know any twelve-year-old girls? Maybe a
sister or cousin or friend. What does she like to do? What is her favorite
subject at school? In the Christmas story we meet Mary, a girl engaged to
a man named Joseph. These days, couples do not usually become engaged until
they are in their twenties or older. But, in Mary’s day, girls much younger
were considered old enough to get married. Before that time, instead of going
to school, a Jewish girl spent her time learning how to be a good wife and
mother by helping around the house, caring for younger siblings, and learning
the songs, Jewish law, and history and heritage of her people.
Although the Bible does not tell us exactly
how old Mary was when she was visited by the angel Gabriel, what we just talked
about shows us that she was probably a young teenager. We do know that Mary’s
parents had already arranged for her to marry Joseph, and she was probably
expected to become a mother not long after getting married. That sounds really
strange to us, doesn’t it? But, Mary thought that was perfectly
normal.
It must have been strange to stand before
the seraph dressed in light, strong and otherworldly garments, and hear him
tell her not to be afraid. Perhaps it was even stranger for Mary to discover
that God had formed an overall impression of her. She was known by God, and He favored her. The angel told Mary she would conceive a son who would rescue His people
from their sins. God had already chosen His name—Jesus, which meant
“salvation.”
But the angel’s message did not come without consequence
for Mary and Joseph. It would lead these two young people to live as fugitives
for a time, fleeing from the paranoia of a ruthless and powerful Roman ruler.
And on top of all that, as her belly expanded, Mary and Joseph would have to
endure the suspicious looks of friends and relatives who couldn’t help
questioning her purity and his character. All of this was coming, and so much
more.
The angel continued with his message. Mary’s boy would grow to reign over the people of
God as their Savior and King. The God who promised David so many years
before that his royal line would see no end would keep that ancient covenant
by bringing an heir to Israel’s throne through this young woman. “But how can
this be, since I’m still a virgin?” she asked. For her to bear this son, she
must conceive, and virgins don’t conceive.
Everyone knows this. The angel explained that all the laws of nature are
amendable by the one who wrote them. Mary
lived in the world that was made, and the Maker of this world was the sole
Author of what could and would happen here.How this
would happen was incidental to the fact that it would.
And God would be the one to do it.
Reading Luke 1:26-38, we can only imagine
the many frightening thoughts that probably went through Mary’s mind as she
listened to Gabriel. Would her parents and Joseph believe that an angel had
visited her? Would she get in trouble for becoming pregnant before she was
married? Would her friends abandon her? But she did not let that keep her from listening,
believing, and obeying. Instead, she showed courage, even when obeying God meant
danger, ridicule, and ostracization. Sometimes God calls us to do things that
go against all human reasoning and emotion. But we can learn to do and say like
Mary, “Be it unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
What promises are waiting to be born in you?
Write out your thoughts
Prayer Lord, Advent is here, but so is family tension. Advent is here, but so are dysfunctional relationships. Advent is here, but so are old habits. Advent is here, but old baggage still exists. Advent is here but fears surface. You say, "I see all that, and I can handle all that." You say, "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." You say, "Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid." You say, "Tell everyone who is discouraged, Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue…
